Welcome to On A Positive Note. This is a new blog that I am writing, and it will appear every Monday in this space. It’s going to be filled with good news about people, places and things in the greater Denver area. If you have an item you’d like me to include, please send it along.

The award, to be presented at a ceremony held in Phoenix, is the AZA’s highest honor award for professional excellence; previous recipients are its namesake, Mailworks founder Wendy Fisher, and Chuck Davis, architect for the Monterey Bay Aquarium. McNicholas, who is being recognized for his contributions as a concessionaire, was nominated by Barbara Baker, president/CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo.